This Tacoma gardener turned his zucchini problem into a community-building effort

David Thompson had a problem that many gardeners can relate to: he had too many vegetables. Even after sharing with neighbors, there was still plenty to go around.

But Thompson found a way to spread the bounty. And he hopes it’ll inspire other gardeners to do the same.

It’s Sunday afternoon at Tacoma’s Jefferson Park. David Thompson and a couple of volunteers are setting up tables that will hold bins of vegetables, free for the taking.

“Gardeners always call it the zucchini problem,” said Thompson. “And it’s always a big joke that you’ll leave it in the neighbors' cars and whatever you can to get rid of that zucchini. This solves the zucchini problem.”

Looking at today’s offerings, yes, there’s a bin of zucchinis, but there’s more.

“We’ve got kale, like three different kinds of kale right here,” said Ursula, Thompson’s wife, showcasing the medley of vegetables in the other bins. “Some onions, and some Swiss chard, and looks like some baby carrots.”

The Thompsons have been sharing garden harvests since 2015. David Thompson got the idea after learning about an organization called Food is Free, a nationwide food sharing effort. “I thought, 'what a cool idea,' you know, you just grow food and give it away.”

David Thompson had always wanted to garden but didn’t start until he moved into a house. He was still working as a mechanic, but after 35 years he retired.

“When you can’t feel your hands, you can’t hold a nut and bolt,” said David Thompson. “So I retired and started doing this.”

David Thompson started giving away his vegetables on a single table in front of his house. And then it grew. But when the pandemic hit, things really picked up and other gardeners around town set up tables, too. Soon, David Thompson was working with food rescue groups that collect food surplus from farms to distribute them to communities in need.

“I was given a truckload of onion by EastWest Food Rescue up in Woodinville, and we got a truck driver [to] come down and bring that truckload down to us," David Thompson recalled. "We unloaded it and started giving it away in the front of my house."

The garden shares also come from gleaning — a practice where growers invite people to pick leftover produce.

What started as a passion project became a full-time job. David Thompson started a non-profit called Food is Free Washington. In addition to his 2000-square-foot garden, David Thompson and volunteers tend to 40 garden beds all over the city.

Nikki Mann brought green beans from her garden. She started volunteering a year and a half ago because it reminded her of how her family helped neighbors in need. “I grew up in a big farm,” Mann said. “And after we got what we needed and enough to make a profit, my grandpa put all the extra out on tables next to the road.”

It’s not just neighborhood folks who visit. Sarah Mejia and Joshua Boyer drove up from Olympia. “I feel like I really enjoy the fact that it’s helping reduce food waste,” said Boyer. Mejia added, “I’m really into the whole, like, community feeding idea, as opposed to like, everyone has their own separate garden.”

The share tables caught the eye of Tacoma newcomer Alexis Church. Like her new friends at Food is Free, she’s trying her hand at gardening this year with a tomato start.

“My boyfriend planted it and he’s been watching it every morning," Church said.

The bins at Jefferson Park are emptying out. The stand stays open until 3 pm, or until there’s no food left. David Thompson says they’ve given away about 2 tons of food so far this season. By the end of this season, he figures it could be up 4 tons.

“I really get a good feeling from it. And it’s kind of addictive. You start giving away stuff and people enjoy it and you see the smile in their faces and you just get hooked and you just want more and more of it.”